Chevrolet Fastback Theme - Flashback

When the Aero sedan Fleetline was introduced in 1942, the public went for the sleek fastback styling in a big way and it became Chevrolet's best-selling model. But then World War II put automobile manufacturing on hold, as GM and the other auto manufacturers began producing the machines to win a war.

2/8How about the vintage stock car approach? Lettering with patina, a stripped interior, and a muffler-moly rollbar are all it would take. Then again, for a '50s vibe, lose some of the trim, go with a Baby Blue paintjob, a couple acres of white tuck 'n' roll on the inside (and don't forget the tonneau cover over the rear seat with your initials and a steering wheel cover), a four- and two-split manifold with glasspacks, and a set of spinner hub caps. Finally a contemporary treatment on a classic body style-nosed and decked with a cleaned-up grille and smooth bumpers-drape it all over a new chassis with an LS engine and automatic overdrive, fill the cabin with every known convenience, then giggle when the Mercedes drivers look at you and smile.

When automobile production resumed after World War II, Chevrolet concentrated on filling the nation's showrooms with the low-priced Stylemaster four-door sedans, but as the company got up to speed, the fastbacks became available in the two-door Aero sedan Fleetline and four-door Sportmaster sedan configurations. With production up to full speed in 1948, Chevrolet pumped out over 159,000 two-door Aero sedans and 54,000-plus four-doors. The following year the numbers were even bigger: 211,000 and 83,000, respectively.

By the time 1949 rolled around, Chevrolet had come up with new body styles to replace the nipped and tucked prewar designs they'd been offering but evidently the public's taste was beginning to change because Fleetline sales began to slip. The once cutting-edge aerodynamic shape was now seen as dated. By 1952 the fastback four-door was missing from the lineup. Then, with the introduction of the new body designs in 1953, the two-door was gone as well.

In stock form the Chevy fastbacks were a love 'em or hate 'em design, but for our purposes they lend themselves to a variety of modifications that can produce truly unique results. Josh Shaw's renderings show three distinct possibilities; we've thrown in some additional photos as food for thought.